Short Answer Questions on the Law of Contracts

Question #1 (3 marks)

Ms. Grimes sent a letter to Mr. Howard, offering to sell him her collection of Canadian oil paintings.Her letter stated the following:

MEMO FROM: R. Grimes

TO: T. Howard

DATE: January 1, 2016

I hereby agree to sell to T. Howard my entire collection of Canadian oil paintings (6 paintings in total) for the sum of $1 million. This offer is open until Monday, January 4, 2016, at 9:00 a.m.

On Sunday, January 3, 2016, Ms. Grimes decided to sell the paintings to her well-to-do neighbour instead. Mr. Howard heard about the alleged sale later that same day and rushed over to Ms. Grimes house, stating that he wished to accept the offer. Ms. Grimes smiled and said "Sorry, you're too late. I've sold to someone else."

Is Ms. Grimes obligated to keep the offer open until the specified time? What could Mr. Howard have done to better protect his position?

Question #2 (3 marks)

On May 1, Mr. B. Dunne and a business partner applied for a bank loan to purchase a piece of property as an investment.Unfortunately, they did not have enough collateral to secure the loan without a guarantor.Mr. B. Dunne approached his wife, who was also a successful business person, to act as the guarantor and she agreed.Contrary to the bank's usual policy, they did not recommend Mrs. Dunne receive independent legal advice prior to signing the documents.When Mr. B. Dunne and his business partner defaulted on the loan, the bank sued Mrs. Dunne for the outstanding amount.Is the bank able to collect on this loan? What issues may arise?

Question #3 (3 marks)

Sayid bought a used car from a local used car dealership.While looking at one particular car, he asked the salesperson if it had ever been in an accident. The salesperson responded "No, this car has never even been in a fender bender.It is in amazing condition" even though he knew it had been fixed up after a three car pile-up.Sayid then decided to buy the car.Unfortunately, after getting the car home, Sayid experienced numerous problems with the vehicle.Upon further investigation, he found out that the car had been in a terrible accident and was almost a "write-off".What issues arise in this situation? Does Sayid have any recourse?

Question #4 (3 marks)

Claire offered to sell her car to Bella for $10,000.Bella accepted the offer.The car was currently in storage, so the two people agreed to go together later that day to pick up the car from the storage facility.Neither one knew that the storage facility had burned down the night before and all of the property held there had been destroyed.Is there a valid contract?

Question #5 (3 marks)

Miles witnessed John drive through a red light while on his cell phone and hit another vehicle.John approached Miles and offered him $500 to offer a witness statement saying he hadn't seen John drive through the light.Miles agreed.John gave him $100 but then never gave him the rest of the promised money.Miles would like to sue John for breach of contract.What issues arise in this scenario?